KLM delay compensation, and how often you'll actually need it
£220 per passenger, if your KLM flight arrived 3 or more hours late
Every KLM route we hold a distance for falls in the same band, so that is the figure. About 136 KLM flights a year cross that line.
In the last 12 months, KLM operated 34,017 flights at UK airports, and 0.4% were 3 or more hours late, the threshold where £220 per passenger becomes payable.
Punctuality is down on last year: 70.4% of flights ran on time against 70.9% in the twelve months before, and the average delay rose from 14.6 to 14.8 minutes.
| KLM, last 12 months | Figure | vs year before |
|---|---|---|
| Flights at UK airports | 34,017 | was 35,535 |
| Ran on time (within 15 min) | 70.4% | ▼ was 70.9% |
| Average delay | 14.8 min | ▲ was 14.6 min |
| 3h+ late (compensation threshold) | 0.4% | - |
| Cancelled | 3.7% | - |
| Flights 3h+ late (a year) | 136 flights/year | - |
The CAA's figures combine arrivals and departures, so this covers both directions of travel.
KLM's delays, month by month
Worst month: January 2026, averaging 27.3 minutes.
How to claim from KLM
KLM takes compensation claims through its own online form.
KLM's own complaints page names AviationADR (aviation@cdrl.org.uk) as the escalation route if you're unhappy with its response, independently confirming the CAA's scheme listing.
If KLM refuses and you think the refusal is wrong, the next step is Aviation ADR, a free independent scheme whose decision the airline has agreed to accept. You do not need a solicitor and you do not pay to use it.
You can claim directly yourself and keep the whole payout, or a claim firm will do the chasing for a share of it. Both end up at the same place.
Claim route checked against KLM's own site and the CAA's dispute-scheme lists on 12 August 2026. Airlines move these pages, so tell us if a link has gone stale.
What the rules turn on
Where the flight departed decides everything, not the airline's nationality. Anything leaving a UK airport is covered by UK261 whoever operates it, and anything leaving the EU by EU261. A delay of 3 or more hours on arrival pays £220 to £520 per passenger when the cause was within the airline's control, which covers technical faults, crew shortages and the knock-on from a late inbound aircraft. It pays nothing when the cause was genuinely extraordinary, though airlines stretch that word further than the case law supports, so a refusal on those grounds is worth testing rather than accepting.
KLM at each UK airport
| Airport | 3h+ % | On-time % |
|---|---|---|
| Heathrow | 0.3% | 75.8% |
| London City | 0.1% | 75.2% |
| Manchester | 0.4% | 61.1% |
| Birmingham | 0.5% | 68.4% |
| Newcastle | 0.7% | 69.9% |
| Edinburgh | 0.4% | 70.9% |
| Bristol | 0.9% | 63.3% |
| Leeds Bradford | 0.3% | 70.4% |
| Glasgow | 0.5% | 69.8% |
| Teesside International Airport | 0.5% | 76.9% |
| Cardiff Wales | 0.4% | 73.0% |
| Exeter | <0.5% | 77.5% |
| Aberdeen | <0.5% | 65.8% |
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Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority punctuality statistics, July 2025 to June 2026. Analysis by CheckFlightCompensation; the CAA is credited as the data source as its publication conditions require. Figures cover the 25 largest UK airports.